ChobitsFFVII Grew Up Wishing
by Blindfolded Angel
Summary: When Tifa met Cloud, a persocom who saved her life, she finds her luck changing. But what dark secrets lie behind the 'com with bright blue eyes? Who created 'coms? Why does Cloud randomly zone out? The cause of the Nibelheim burning? ShinRa's dark past?
1. Cloudy Skies and Strange Goodbyes

Chapter 1: Cloudy Skies and Strange Goodbyes

_Persocom. That is what we call the humanoid computers created by Doctor Simon Hojo or the ShinRa Electric Power Company. Dr. Simon Hojo, my recently deceased husband, created the first Persocom in hopes of creating a way to heal the pains of humans who could not bare children or have lost love or cannot love at all._

_His dream was pure in the beginning. He wanted the Persocoms, his children, to be loved as if they were not machines and in return, he hoped that his children could love them back. With this goal in mind, my husband created the first Persocom, Sephiroth. He was our child, created because I cannot bare children. _

_Oh, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lucrecia Crescent, Dr. Hojo's wife and owner of a small apartment complex. But this isn't just my story. It is the story of many. Of my husband and my sons. Yes, I said sons. Of a young woman named Tifa Lockheart and the struggles of her life. Of two young 'coms named Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi. Its about all of the Humans and Persocoms in world who have ever shared this dream, one dream,_

_A dream of love._

**From The Creator of Final Fantasy's:**

_**Two Where There Was One**_

_**&**_

_**Silent Hill Preview**_

**And Devil May Cry's: **

_**Unplugged **_

**Blindfolded Angel Presents **_**The Chobits FF7 Crossover**_

_**Grew Up Wishing**_

"Tifa! Make sure you stay safe on the walk home, 'kay?" a voice called out from somewhere behind her, kind and reassuring.

"Will do, Manager! Thank you!" Tifa called back, her long ebony locks swaying lazily behind her as she walked down the darkness of the streets of Midgar.

Tifa Lockheart was a rare thing to be seen in the slums of Midgar. She was beautiful and kind, but she refused to sell herself to get ahead. She was flat out broke but refused to stoop so low as to steal or sin to get by. She relied upon herself and no one else to move ahead in life.

She devoted herself between three things. Her studies, work and getting the bills paid. Everything else was just something she had no time for. She couldn't be like normal people her age, she couldn't afford it in any sense at all.

So here she found herself, walking through the risky, dark streets of the slums, head tipped high as she walked along. She wasn't afraid, not like she used to be, of the risks of the city. Crap happens, she knew it, but there was nothing she could do about it so she'd roll with the punches. Wasn't like it would be the first tragedy of her life.

Her skin crawled just thinking about it. The heat, the fire, crackling and horrible… No one knew why Nibelheim was burnt to the ground. But there were plenty of rumors to make up for it. Rumors going anywhere from arsenal, to aliens, to accidents and…to the more realistic. To cover up laid out by the government. The city knew of the one who lived at the height of Nibelheim. Doctor Simon Hojo of the ShinRa Electric Power Company were known to be an anti-social lot. Nobody knew much about them besides the fact that they worked for the government. They didn't know anything about what went on behind the wooden walls of the ShinRa Manor and most didn't want to find out. It could have been something revolving that…

But she'd rather not know. Yeah, she was alone because of that accident. Her parents…well, parent, her Mother left her and her Father long ago, was dead thanks to the Nibelheim tragedy. She was left with nothing. No family, no money, nowhere to go and no future. But instead of moping about it she made up her own future. Unwilling to stick around the country scenery any longer, she moved to the city in hopes of drowning out her past.

Shrugging the thoughts off, she turned the corner to take a short cut to the apartment she rented out from Miss Crescent. She was a nice woman who let Tifa pay her bills just a little later than the rest, understanding that she was working hard and couldn't do more than she already was.

She was thrown out of her thoughts as a rough voice brought her back to the reality of the dangers of the alley she was in.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" said a hungry voice, rough and crackly, "A little kitten has gotten lost."

Tifa's brows drew close in frustration. She was tired of the men always hitting on her in hopes of a one-night stand. She wanted something stable and true or nothing at all! Why did they even think they could have her?

"I don't want any trouble," she said softly, slowly moving to put her purse on the floor between them, "There isn't much but just take it and go. There's no need to do anything rash."

The man whistled, "Whew-wee, look at that. The whore paying me instead of the other way around, I think I like that," he took a rough step closer, eyes glinting with a feral light.

Tifa took a step back, her heart sinking. She knew some fighting skills, yes, but nothing that she could do in the high heels and confining uniform given to her to work in at the bar, 7th Heaven.

"You don't have to do this," she said, trying to keep her voice level, eyes darting for something, anything, to prevent the inevitable.

"No, I don't have to. But I want to."

Tifa turned on heel to run but she never was good with the twig thin shoes women seemed to love to wear now a-days. Cursing her luck, her ankle gave way beneath her and she stumbled into the way beside her, closely followed by the man. He grabbed her wrists in a bruising grip and pinned her to the wall.

His breath was thick with a smell she didn't want to think about, let alone let anywhere near her mouth, She turned her cheek to him when she felt his mouth draw close. Her cheeks heated when she felt his hands groping her shamelessly. He might not remember this in the morning but she would remember it forever if she didn't do something!

_No one will come to save me. There is no higher influence in life; I don't care what religion says…not that it matters. Even if there was a higher power, it was obviously ignoring her. _

She was about to give up when she felt the man knocked to the side with a force to be reckoned with. A quick glance to the left showed that the molester was flat on his face. A look to the right showed a lithe young man, nearly half the huge thug's size, standing there, fists raised and in position to aide her.

She felt her heart soar. No one ever helped her but maybe…maybe her luck was finally changing?

She watched as the thug slowly stumbled onto unstable feet, wiping his bloody and broken nose on the back of his shirt sleeve, his voice was a liquid sound, "What the hell do you think you're doing, punk? I'll teach you!"

The man threw himself forward, knife at the ready and Tifa wondered where and when he pulled it out.

She turned to the young man, prepared to tell him not to worry about her and just run when she was shocked again that night.

The young man barely blinked a bright blue eye as he ducked the silver flash of metal. Bending low and gather his muscles into a whipcord tight force, he thrust the heel of his palm up into the man's jaw, a resounding crack following the blow. The thug was lifted into the air, right off his feet, but the boy didn't miss a beat. Twisting and lunging up with a grace only known to be blessed to cats, he brought his elbow down hard against the assailant's abdomen, causing him to crash down to the ground in another series of sickening sounds.

The thug groaned and curled in on himself for a moment, spitting blood onto the puddles of the alley street. _When had it started to rain? _She wondered distantly as she watched the man slowly gather himself up, curse them a warning for 'next time' and run off into the darkness of the city slums.

She looked with wide eyes from where the thug once sat to the young man behind her.

"Thank you."

He didn't say anything but she didn't notice, more preoccupied by his appearance. He was a young man, near her age, in his early to mid twenties. His hair, despite the down pouring rain, sat in rough blonde spikes upon his head, distantly making her think of the Chocobo her Father taught her to ride when she was young. His clothing was ragged and tattered, made of thick black leather and intricately designed to a complex degree. His eyes, big and shaded with the purest blue she had ever seen, watched her with an innocent curiosity that she couldn't really place, something between cute and disturbing.

"Err…I can pay you, if you want but I don't have much…"

He only tilted his head, unable to understand her.

"You alive?" she asked, quirking a brow and putting her hands on her hips.

He sighed softly and looked up at the rain clouds, letting the rain fall down upon him in sheets.

She shook her head and sighed, "Do you have anywhere to go?" when he didn't answer she said it more slowly for him," Do. You. Have. A. Home?"

He didn't answer, merely shifted his bright eyes to look at her once more but…was there a hint of sadness behind them? Oh Gaia! Was he a mute? She would feel so bad if he was. Cursing her luck, she grabbed him by the arm and gave him a no nonsense look, "C'mon, you can crash at my place. It's the least I can do."

* * *

"Whoa, that all really happened? Is he hot? What does he look like?" Aeris began to babble from the other side of the phone the second she finished her story. Tifa rubbed her temples softly, holding her PHS up with her shoulder as she sat on the lip of her tub in the closed privacy of her very small bathroom.

"Aeris, pay attention here! What should I do? He won't talk; I don't know what's wrong with him! He just sits by the window and stares out at the rain."

"Well, did you offer him a towel, Tifa? I bet he's soaked!"

…_forgot about that…_ she thought to herself as she towel her own hair dry, already in comfy and dry clothes.

"I'll call you back," she said and hung up the phone in time to hear the giggle from the other line.

Pressing through the bathroom door and entering her bedroom, she searched for clothing big enough to wear. Finding a pair of large sweat pants and a large shirt, she tossed them onto her shoulder and walked out to the remaining room of her apartment.

Her apartment was small and consisted of three rooms. One that served as the living room and kitchen, one that served as the bathroom and one that served as the bedroom. Other than that, it was a simply furnished place. A nice couch that came with the apartment (she could never afford it with her pay!). A very small TV with no cable, a cheap DVD player near the end of its days, a couple of stray movies she loved too much not to buy and stuff she needed for everyday life. Things like food, kitchen stuff (very limited), a bed, a comforter, clothes and bathroom needs.

He sat by the window, just like she left him, leaving a small puddle of water underneath him thanks to the rain soaking him through.

Grabbing a towel from her laundry basket filled with freshly cleaned things, she threw it playfully onto his head. Dropping the bundle of clothing onto his lap, she told him to get changed, to call her when the coast was clear while she hid out in the bedroom.

A few moments later she heard a soft tap on her door. Opening it, she found the young man before her, watching her with his curious blue eyes. He looked cute in the clothing, even if it was too big for him. With a soft scowl she noticed that his droopy wet hair was still dripping, the towel left forgotten by the window. Instructing him to sit down on the floor, she grabbed the towel and sat behind him. Dropping the towel onto his head again, she began to softly but thoroughly towel his hair dry. When she was satisfied she ran one hand through his blond spiky locks and smiled, "There, all better."

She blinked when she felt something cold and metal brush against her wander fingertips.

Were those…metal ears?

Gasping, she brushed his hair apart to find a set of metal pieces were the man's ears shoulder of been. The pieces were shaped like drooping dog-ears, blue and white.

Turning him by the shoulders to look him in the eye, she asked breathlessly, "You're a Persocom?!"

* * *

**Sorry its shorter than I normally write but that's all you get for today! I'm going to try and alternate between this story and Two Where There Was One evenly so hopefully it will get updated every other day accordingly? **

**Hope you enjoyed it, this was just to get it started, I haven't even gotten started with the plot twists yet!**

**REVIEW if you want me to continue, don't want to make the people from the other story wait if this doesn't have anyone who wants to read it!**

**-Spazzy**


	2. Shadows in the Night

Chapter 2: Shadows in the Night

"You're a Persocom?!" Tifa exclaimed, watching the young man with awe.

He tilted his head curiously but did not speak.

Tifa rubbed at her temples gently, confused, shocked and a little angry at herself for not noticing earlier. His eyes widened suddenly.

So was she a thief now? She had a Persocom, a piece of machinery, a piece of property that was not hers, in her room, without permission…oh god, she was beginning to feel sick.

With a sudden energy she didn't know she had, she grabbed her phone and ran back into the bathroom to call Aeris.

The young man watched her as she ran in, his eyes curious and always learning.

* * *

"Tifa, calm down and speak like a _normal person_! Sheesh! You sound like you a midget on helium caught in fast forward!" Aeris muttered softly.

Tifa took a deep breath and tried again, "I said, the guy who saved me-"

"-You mean you're knight in shining armor?"

"…Yeah…whatever. The guy who saved me isn't real," Tifa said softly, panic still thick in her throat.

"Oh Tifa, that's horrible! You're seeing things? Are you taking something? Do you have some disorder I don't know about or something?" Aeris began to babble.

"Aeris, no! Listen to me for a moment, alright?"

"Oops, yeah. Go ahead," Aeris squeaked.

"He's a Persocom, Aer'."

"…"

"Aeris, you still there?" Tifa asked softly.

"I thought something was wrong and you're telling me that you're upset because a Persocom is in your room?" Aeris asked coldly.

"It's not _mine,_ Aeris. That's what worries me!" Tifa screeched.

"God, Tifa! Kill me eardrums why don't you! Sheesh! It's not that big of a deal! Take him around and ask people if they've seen him or something. Or wait for a missing ad in the paper that fits him. You didn't steal him, you found him. There's a big difference, my friend."

"…I guess you're right," Tifa said softly, then blinked, "Wait, did you just call it a 'he'?

"Well, it is a _male_ Persocom, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"-Then it's a 'he', Tifa. Why wouldn't I call him a 'he'?"

Tifa paused, "Because it isn't human and therefore lacks gender."

"You called him a 'he'," Aeris pointed out happily.

"Back when I thought he was real!"

They're bickering continued for quite a while but finally the two girls got back to subject.

"So what do I do, Aer'? I mean, even if it doesn't have an owner…it doesn't talk or understand anything! That's hardly what I call helpful," Tifa said pointedly.

"Well, maybe he's got a password or something. Tell you what, we swing by your place tomorrow after school and take him to a friend of mine, 'kay? He's…what did he call it…technological inclined? Yeah, that's it. He'll help, no worries."

Tifa nodded and responded with an affirmative, a swift goodbye and was about to hang up when Aeris' urgent voice caught her.

"Yeah, I'm still here, Aer'."

"You're going to be okay, right? I mean…after what happened. If you need anything, call me and I'll come over, okay?"

Tifa smiled. That was just like Aeris, all heart. She was worried, Tifa knew this and letting her thoughts wander back to what happened, she started in shock.

Truth be told…_she was fine…_but shouldn't she be breaking down or something? Why was she okay?

_Probably because there is a cute guy wearing you're pjs with no underwear in your very living room at this moment. _

Her cheeks heated. _Where did that come from? He's only a machine!_

Oh god, she's calling him a he now? This didn't bode well.

* * *

The Persocom blinked curiously, watching Tifa go through to the bathroom before turning to look out the window once more.

"Do you know why you like to watch the cloud's so much?"

The Persocom slowly turned to look behind him. There, behind him, was a young male, maybe a little older than he, with long black wild spiky hair, his eyes an astonishing and glowing shade of icy blue and light purple. He seemed somewhat intangible, like he was there and yet he wasn't and despite his lack of substance, his skin was still a healthy tan color.

They're clothing was at odds now. The Persocom was wearing soft light colors, gray sweat pants and a white t-shirt that said DREAMER on it in light blue. But this Other…he wore baggy blackish gray pants and a sleeveless turtleneck, a loose belt hanging to his hips and his large boots floating a few feet off the ground.

"Well, kiddo? Do you remember me?" the Other inquired curiously, a warm smile on his face.

The Persocom shook his head, somehow understanding this Other, unlike the woman in the bathroom.

A flicker of pain flashed across the Other's face before he glided over to Persocom, hand on his shoulder, and turned to look at the clouds that the young man had been staring at moments before.

"Partly Cloudy with a chance of rain, that's you, alright," the Other said with a smile, squeezing the Persocom's shoulder lightly.

"Cloud?" the Persocom asked questioningly.

The Other turned to give him an encouraging and warm smile, "Yeah, that's you're name, kid. Remember?"

The soft click of the bathroom door opening shook Cloud from his thoughts and with them, the Other disappeared as well.

He may not know who the Other was but the right side of his chest lit up with warmth at his appearance and tingled at his sudden disappearance, caught between an indescribable twinge of pain and a soft pleasant feeling of closeness.

Cloud looked up to the haggard looking woman with bright blue eyes, watching her every move curiously.She turned to him.

"Well, a friend of mine says she'll help us…find help, I guess. So sit tight, you can hang out here until someone claims you or…well, I don't know. I don't want to worry about it yet and why am I talking to you in the first place?!" Tifa asked, scorning herself as she watched his confused face and threw her arms out, "Not like you know what I'm talking about anyways…Sheesh."

She threw herself onto the couch and moaned, letting her muscles relax slowly.

"Cloud."

Tifa blinked, eyes opening slowly from their once closed position to slowly trail over to the Persocom sitting on her floor. His voice was deep and smooth and made her heart flutter. Her face heated, "What did you say?"

"Cloud," the Persocom repeated softly, trying to recall the words the Other had used and change them so that she too could understand, "Name. Cloud."

Tifa just stared at him, gaping with wide eyes and in return he tilted his head curiously to her.

* * *

"Have you found them yet?" a soft whiney voice caught his attention for the umpteenth time. He looked down to the bundle in his lap.

It was a young woman curdled gently so that she lay upon his outstretched legs and her head rested on his chest. The position was not uncomfortable; he was leaning against to the wall of a rather high skyscraper and was enjoying the view thoroughly, despite the soft drizzling rain.

Her hair was as dark as his was, cut short but still reaching her shoulders in soft feathery layers. Her eyes, barely open, were a steel gray color. Usually they were wide and awake but now they were nearly closed, she needed to shut down at least for a little bit.

Her sunglasses were lying in her slightly curled fingers. Her outfit, resembling his somewhat, was dark and helped her blend in with the night. Her short shorts showed off the creamy color of her skin and the knee-high boots were laced up tight to her slim calves. Her shirt, a little too short of his conservative comfort, showed off quiet a bit of stomach that was enjoyable to observe and yet he didn't want to see.

She was cute and warm in his lap but apart of him wished that she wasn't because this closeness just reminded him of days he shouldn't remember.

_Damn you, Hojo…_

He took a deep breath and let it go slowly. Letting his head fall back gently, he rested it against the wall behind him and closed his crimson eyes. He was wearing black leather in strips and buckles and layers, all to cover what he truly was. His cloak and mantle, made of soft red and tattered fabric, covered his lower face and kept them both warm through the bit of the cold.

_Wait…no, she cannot feel cold, can she. She can judge the temperature and her programming can make her react accordingly. Not like me. Thanks to Hojo, I am not like a Human or a Persocom…I am a monster…_

Thrown from his thoughts as a cold gust of wind blew at his messy black raven locks that ran halfway down his back, Vincent turned his face to the wind and inhaled its pleasant scent.

_Still the same as I remember…_

Looking down at the Protector of the National Data Bank, he noticed that finally his partner had shut down for much needed rest. Moving her gently so as not to suddenly wake her from Sleep Mode, he stood and began to walk towards the edge of the building.

Looking down into the abyss of the city, he tossed Yuffie one last wayward glance over his shoulder, already imagining the earful he'll get when she catches him and turns back to the city.

_Calling upon the Chaos Gene Programming, initializing…Initialization Complete. Wings now active. _

His cloak swirled on a wind that no other could feel and slowly moved upwards on its own accord, forming to large tattered red and black wings. Stretching them wide in the night sky and taking in the delicious feeling of stretching muscle that no other Persocom could feel but he, Vincent leapt into the air and tucked his wings close.

He closed his eyes as he dove into the lights of the wet city, letting the wind bite at his cheeks pleasantly and letting go of himself for the first time in ages. Right here, right now, he was the ShinRa National Data Bank.

He was Vincent Valentine and nothing else.

Moving in a sharp twist, his wings shot out suddenly, ending his free fall and propelling him back up into the night sky. Slowly he headed towards a building, cross-referencing Lucrecia Crescent with Midgar Addresses all the while. His Crimson eyes turned dull for a moment as he searched the Data Banks within him and finding his match his eyes returned to their normal fiery glow.

With a thrust of strong muscle enhanced by the Chaos Program, he sped off to give a certain someone a visit.

* * *

Tifa sat on her bed, one hand covering her weary eyes, contemplating in the darkness of her room, flickering softly with the lights of her TV, whether or not she felt like getting up to close the open window of her room. She sighed and remained in bed, resolving to get up in a minute instead of in an instant.

Her mind was running too fast from her body to ever attain sleep and the fact made her not just a little mad. Changing position for the seventh time that night, she settled her thoughts on the Persocom in her living room, sleeping on her couch.

_Cloud._

He said his name was Cloud. About time he finally said something. Maybe whatever was keeping him from talking was wearing off now?

She watched the city lights through her open window and shot up in bed at the sudden flicker of shadow that passed by.

It had looked like…a man. But no man could possible run across the rooftops of the apartment complex across from them that quickly and silently.

Not to mention the thing looked as though it had _wings_. Shivering slightly for a reason that had nothing to do with the wet frigid air, Tifa watching the window worriedly a bit longer before getting up, closing it with a snap and locking it behind her as she went back to bed.

_Just my imagination._

Reaching out to grab her controller to turn off the TV she paused, listening at the latest report on the late night news show.

**"On recent news, the search for the Turk that went missing years back has finally been called off and all investigation has ceased. There will be a funeral tomorrow night at the cemetery near the church in Sector 7. ShinRa sends their condolences to anyone who might've known the Turk and hopes that he finds peace in the Life Stream. Anyone who wishes to attend the funeral is welcome to and there will be a small ceremony in his honor for his service to the ShinRa Electric Power Company. Vincent Valentine will be sorely missed."**

_Click._ The lights from the TV slowly fade away as she puts the controller back down, done with the task of turning off the TV.

When she finally reached dreamland, her sleep was restless, filled with bright blue eyes and a shadow that seemed oddly familiar.

* * *

Ms. Crescent turned off the TV slowly, watching the TV turn off, still standing, eyes sad and watering.

She had been making her way to the bedroom when heard the mumbles of the TV from the living room. Sighing, he had turned back around to turn it off when the news report caught her attention.

_So he never did escape…Oh Vincent, I'm so sorry. If you knew the whole story you would understand though! _

Closing her eyes, letting the warm salty tears stream freely, she began to turn to head back to her bedroom when they soft swish of her curtains swaying with the wind from the open window caught her attention.

Turning to look out the window of her flat to the building beyond, she waited in the darkness for a flash of lightening to illuminate her surroundings.

And flash it did. Lightening forked out in a brilliant white light behind the building in front of her, bringing the figure standing out on the rooftop into view. A flash of red cloth and bright fiery eyes…

Gasping, she ran to the window, watching the figure closely.

_Vincent?!_

Stopping by the window's sill, she leaned out, ignoring the splashes of the Heaven's rain as she tried to see the figure better.

Another flash of light flickered out and lasted a bit longer than the last, showing her the familiar features of a man who should have been dead. Her breath caught in her throat.

_Vincent!_

The figure simply watched her, making no move to come closer nor leave. He only moved when another, a young woman, who looked utterly livid, caught his attention.

"Do you know how worried I've been searching for you?! What if you have gotten your National Data Bank ass handed to you by an enemy or something?! Geeze, Vince' I thought you had more sense than that!"

_So it was Vincent!_

She was about to call out to him when he turned back to look at her. Their eyes connected for a moment and she could almost hear what he was saying behind those eyes. So much conflict and pain…

He turned on heel, his cloak spreading out into large tattered wings once more before jetting off into the night. The young woman cursed, stomped her foot, before leaping from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit.

She watched him go, leaning out the window slightly to see him until he fell completely from her sight.

_Vincent…_

The young woman's voice caught her attention, echoing in her head gently,_**"Do you know how worried I've been searching for you?! What if you have gotten your National Data Bank ass handed to you by an enemy or something?! Geeze, Vince' I thought you had more sense than that!"**_

_National Data Bank…those wings…oh Hojo! You didn't! Please, tell me you didn't! _

She mourned, falling to her knees by the windowsill as she watched her fallen love fly away, once again missing from her life.

* * *

"Alright, Tifa! This is Reeve! He's a friend of mine I met in a chat room, ain't that right, Reeve?" Aeris asked in a singsong voice, "He works with ShinRa and he's a tech wiz! I bet he could help you. You wouldn't mind, would you, Reeve?"

"No problem, I'm off today and free days usually leave me quite bored. Come on in, I'll get you all something for dinner as well. We eat while you tell me about your problem," Reeve said, smiling.

Reeve Tuesti, the head of ShinRa's Urban Development Department and created of some of the best homemade 'coms in existence. One of his models, a small cat, have been excellent in many of ShinRa's missions and come quiet in handy during recon, information collection and stealth missions. If one breaks, there are hundreds of others to replace it. The original model is called Caith Sith and he still resides with him to this day.

Reeve was a handsome man, in his early thirties to his early fourties, with chocolate brown hair and a goatee that Tifa knew only he could pull off. He smiled fabulously and led them all into his rather large mansion like home.

* * *

**'Kay, that's it for now. I really need to finish up the chapter to my other story, I've got half of chapter 16 done but this story had 5 or 6 reviews so I figured I'd update before that.**

**Vincent and Zack have finally been introduced into the FanFic! Along with Yuffie and Reeve, yay!**

**I hope you all enjoy this and thanks for all the support guys!**

**Remember to keep reviewing! **

**-Spazzy**


	3. Catch Me If You Can

Chapter 3: Catch Me If You Can

Cloud sat down, as was instructed, and remained impassive as he stared at his surroundings curiously. It had been a short time after their 'wonderful' dinner, as Tifa had repeated many times, and now he was here. He didn't understand what 'wonderful' was, nor what the purpose of 'dinner' was. He did not receive a plat of this 'dinner' nor was he asked, not that he understood why either of those things would've mattered. Now he was 'here', while he was once 'there' and he was quite confused.

"This is…remarkable, Tifa."

That voice…it belonged to the man named Reeve. He seemed familiar but as for why, Cloud couldn't recall. Cloud closed his eyes, his temple suddenly pounding with an unknown sensation. What was it called again…?

_He felt a hand at his shoulder, soft and caring, but rough with the calluses of battle. It was the Other from before, the man…._

_**"That's called pain, Cloud," **__his voice seemed strained, as though this 'pain' he spoke of was something he was very familiar with and didn't want to have to pass onto him. _

_He wore different clothing this time, Cloud noted, as did he. He did not understand why he needed different clothing but Tifa had insisted. He liked Tifa; she was…what was the word? Nice. Yes, that was it. He didn't want to see her when she wasn't doing that thing when she curved her lips. He didn't understand what that curve of the lips meant, nor the twinkle of the eyes, but it was beautiful to him and he was determined to find out how to make her do that again._

_Tifa had brought him a pair of blue jeans and a button up work shirt. She had told him it belonged to her 'Father'. Cloud wanted to ask what a 'Father' was but he didn't know how. Somehow they didn't feel quite right. They did not smell the same as Tifa, pleasant and sweet, but instead they smelled of something warm and enduring and Cloud didn't know what to make of it. All he knew was that the same was not his or Tifa's but someone else's and it made him feel…strange._

_This Other wore all black. He was in clothing Cloud had never seen before but deep within him he felt that was wrong, that he had seen them before, seen him before. The Other wore a black suit, cut perfectly for his body figure. A black coat with short tails, a white button up shirt, which seemed not to be white but the absence of color itself, a pure glowing light. A dark blue, nearly black, silk vest, which rested over his blinding shirt and under his darker than the night sky coat. His slacks were a simple black cut that came to rest at his shined leather shoes. His hair was just as messy as ever but seemed to have a gel in it, as if someone had tried to coax the wild spikes into submission and failed. But his eyes were the same, the ghost of a man, warm but trying to cover up an emotion foreign to Cloud, similar to the ache in his head, Pain._

_"What is…pain?" Cloud asked softly, not out loud but within._

_The Other smiled softly, like an adult trying to explain something to a child that can only be learned through experience and time, not words or explanations, "__**Pain is what it is, Cloudy," **__he chuckled sadly, the warmth somehow still there though, "__**I can't explain it to you. I never was good with that kind of stuff, you know that," **__his smile faltered like a flame in a wind but just as suddenly, it was back again, "__**No, I guess you don't know that.**__"_

_"You cannot explain this to me?"_

_His Other sighed and shook his head, "__**I'll try but it ain't going to be amazing, alright?"**_

_Cloud simply watched him._

_**"There are three types of pain, Cloud. One in body, one in mind and one," he tapped his chest, right about his heart, "in heart. These three pains center around one idea but are quite different. You can tell the difference in people's eyes, Cloudy."**_

_"The eyes?"_

_**"Oh…this is going to take a while… Alright, I'll teach you what they are as they come, okay? For now, you're experiencing pain on mind. You don't remember things but somewhere within you, something says that you do. It's kind of like Deja Vu. Like you've seen it before but you don't remember why or how. You've lost all of your original programming, which means your memories, Cloud. But not in the normal sense of lost….I'm not allowed to tell you the rest, bud. You asked me not to a long time ago. But don't worry, you'll figure it out."**_

_"Does it ever go away?"_

_The Other's eyes got the flicker again and he couldn't mask it away before Cloud caught it._

_"Are you in…pain of mind?" Cloud asked softly, touching the Other's temple softly._

_The Other glanced to the woman talking with Reeve, all luxurious brown__hair in long sparkling waves, bangs that framed her face and beautiful emerald eyes. He watched as she talked with Reeve the whole time…her smiles, her jokes, her small little quirks like how she tossed her hair and held her chin high when she was mocking insult or how she couldn't lie with a straight face. _

_Cloud had noticed but didn't understand why._

_**"No, it isn't a pain of mind."**_

_"A pain of body?" Up until now, all the pains the Other had mentioned seemed healable and temporary but one, deep within himself, he knew wasn't so easy to cure, if at all._

_The Other hooded his eyes under his black lashes, __**"No."**_

_Cloud placed his hand over his Other's heart, his voice was soft and worried, "Here?"_

_**"Yeah kid,"**__ his Other whispered as he began to disappear again, __**"In Heart."**_

And the Other was gone…

Only then did Cloud notice that there were numerous wires connected to him. Some connected deep into his ears, some upon his temples, which resembled little, suction cups, and others like the suction cups were placed randomly but strategically along his body.

"Tifa…this Persocom…isn't completely a computer."

Then he heard Tifa and Aeris, loud as ever, "WHAT?!"

* * *

Tifa walked down the street at a brisk and unyielding pace. Oh Gaia was she confused and mad and worried and…damn it! What a headache! Cloud was walking a step behind her, watching the streets and the stores and the cars and the people all in awe. Tifa turned to look at him when she felt his hand at the crook of her arm.

"What's wrong?" she asked, something between worry and a snap. She growled within herself. Why was she asking this? He was just a computer! …but if Reeve's theories were true…No! There was no such thing. There were stories, sure. Stories of the Originals, the origins or Persocoms and where the name actually came from. The stories of the greatest creator of all Gaia not being kindhearted but instead a twisted and insane man who wanted to play God… but none of that was true. There was research. All of the Originals, or so they were titled, never existed. There was no trace of such technology ever being created, or able to be created, in order to produce such an organism!

"Tifa…looks like…she's in pain?" a question. A question between the correctness of his sentence and if she truly was hurting.

Tifa immediately masked over the emotion and smiled. For some reason, she didn't want this innocent creature, whether computer or something else, to have to know what pain was, "No, I'm fine."

Cloud didn't seem to be fooled.

She looked around for an escape, something, anything, to take the focus off her troubled mind. Her eyes caught a hold of a small indoor walkthrough mall. A little complex that held a few clothing stores, a bookshop, a music store and a nice place to eat. She smiled to him and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards it, "Today is my day off, as rare as that is. Lets go to the mall!"

Cloud blinked, "The mall?" a little alert went off in the back of his head. Something from the Other, a little whisper of advice.

_**"Run! Don't ever, EVER, go into a mall with a woman! Run! For the sake of your sanity! RUN!"**_

He didn't get the chance to listen to his Other's advice as he was dragged to the mall and as he entered he felt this sinking in his stomach, if he had one, that felt like utter doom.

* * *

Cloud was so confused with the new emotion that he didn't know what to do with himself. He felt like, if it was possible, he was just going to stop soon… It was clawing at his mind with knives and ripping at his body with sharp curving points and tearing at his heart like a spear. He didn't know all three pains could harvest into one… Was he going to die?

_**"Its called boredom, man. Don't say I didn't try to warn you."**_

His Other was right, he did try to warn him. Why didn't he listen? A quick glance to Tifa explained it all for him and his heart lightened, or so it felt. He wasn't sure he had a heart…

But she was curving her lips again in that way that made his insides sing with excitement. He loved that look. She was fingering the fabric of a coat, a very nice coat, actually. The coat was something between a trench coat and a stylish short coat, which, Cloud calculated, would come down to mid thing, if she wore it. Within his mind, he analyzed the coat and Tifa's figure, then he put the two together and his own lips curved ever so slightly.

The coat, as he thought, would come down to mid thigh. It buttoned just so, it would hug her figure quite cutely, not too loose but not too tight. The soft tan of the coat would go well with the cold season that seemed to be caught between white flurries and rain. The fabric was stable yet soft and the collars of the coat would brush her neck and fold outwards quite nicely. The inside of the coat, he noted, was thick and warm. If he was correct, it was probably the mix of a raincoat and a winter coat, whatever that meant, but he knew Tifa liked it and that was all that mattered.

"Do you want it?"

The sudden presence of her _Persocom _startled her. She had, for a moment, forgotten about the Persocom and the worries tied with him. She blinked, looking at his curious and slightly confused expression. He was waiting for her answer and her pause was beginning to baffle him.

A quick flick of fingers and a glance was all it took for Tifa to compile that answer.

"Yes, I do."

"Then…" he was considering his limited vocabulary once more. Somehow, someway, he knew the words already and for every moment he remained wandered around this world he remembered more and more about the traits of people and their habits, "Why don't you buy it?"

"Its way too much, Cloud. Plus, I need to get you clothes and right now, that's more important. I get my paycheck tomorrow night 'cause it will finally be Friday. So for now, lets get you an outfit for tomorrow, some dinner and then worry about getting you more clothes then."

Another emotion flooded through Cloud and as he watched her walk away without a second glance he sighed softly, eyes back on the coat.

_**"You're feeling guilty, Cloud. I know it hurts, like a sinking from within, but she is right. You need clothing. She can't afford to buy whatever she wants, Cloud. That happens sometimes. She has priorities and surviving each day comes before simple pleasures."**_

_"How does one…get gil?"_

_**"You have to work for it, typically, though there are…lower methods. Cloud, never steal, alright? You know what, scratch everything that came after you gotta work for it, 'kay? If you want gil you have to earn it, no questions asked. You gotta get a job, Spike."**_

_"A Job?"_

_**"Yeah, a job…is what the woman at the register is doing, you see? She is helping the people who want to buy things from this store 'cause its her job. Depending on how long she works this week and how well she handles her job, she gets gil on Payday. Got it?"**_

_"Could I get a job?"_

_**"Yes."**_

_"Could I give the gil to Tifa?"_

_**"Hmm…you could but she wouldn't accept it, Spike. She wouldn't want you to give her gil you worked for."**_

_Cloud just couldn't understand, "Why?"_

_He could almost see his Other shrug, even though he wasn't out right now, __**"Because Tifa is a kind person. She believes that she has to work for her gil and doesn't want to trouble or take gil from anyone else. She's quite a dependant lass, its how she grew up. She just won't accept it. But, you could her a present, if you want."**_

_"A present?"_

_**"Well, yeah. You could get a job and whenever you get paid, save up your gil until you have enough to buy that coat for her. When you do, you can give it to her, as a present. Something that you bought for her."**_

Cloud smiled and followed Tifa out of the store.

* * *

After purchasing a pair of black jeans, a thick black turtleneck and a dark blue scarf, they walked aimlessly around the mall. Tifa would've bought him a winter coat until she reasoned he was not human and could not feel the cold. Winter coats were expensive and she would wait until she had a good balance of money until she bought him one. She was basically dry from their little trip and all she had left in her wallet was a invalid credit card, something that was cut off a long time ago, and enough gil to get dinner, maybe something to pass the time and hold her off until tomorrow night.

Shortly after that, Tifa walked into the bookstore and paid for a novel she was hoping would actually keep her interesting. Along the way out she picked up a sandwich from a local store, a second in case she was hungry tomorrow, and a soda. With Cloud's help, she carried the bags and began to head out to the allies that would lead home when someone's booming voice caught her attention.

"Tifa!" Barret howled from the doorway of the Weapons Shop he owned. She beamed him a smile and walked over, a baffled Cloud not far behind. Dropping her bags on the counter she allowed Barret to bear hug her and properly gave her own greetings to the large man she had come to call a friend.

"How have you been, Barret? How is Marlene?"

"Everything is good, Tifa, real good! I've been bringing in the big bucks with this new shop I've got going and Marlene's been great! I went and bought her a Persocom too! She named the kid Denzel or some such. Its cute watching the two play together. I got him special programming. He acts just like a kid but in the event of an emergency, he is programmed to protect Marlene!" he smiled, quite proud of himself, "I think its great!"

Tifa blinked. It seemed everyone had Persocom now. They all seemed to like Persocom more than people as well. Her thoughts drifted to Cloud, to the way she had protected him and the simple innocent acts he did. Could she really blame them?

A Persocom wouldn't hurt you, they wouldn't betray you…they're perfect in everyway.

Shaking her head of those thoughts she smiled, "That's great news, Barret!"

"I see you got yourself a boyfriend, Tifa. Since when?" he turned to Cloud, "You better take good care of my girl here, boy!"

Cloud simply tilted his head to him, baffled by the large man's behavior.

"Not the brightest bulb in the box, I see," Barret whispered to her, "Is he a good catch, Tifa? I want you to be safe, you see?"

Tifa smiled and raised one hand to stem the tide of words spewing out from the large man's mouth, "He isn't my boyfriend, Barret. He's a Persocom I found…well, he found me is more like it. You see, I was walking through a back ally-"

"Why were you walking through a back ally, Tifa?!"

While the two went over all that had happened to Tifa recently, Cloud's eyes wandered about the store curiously before coming to rest on a large sword hanging on the wall above the register. It was a broad sword with an metal that gleamed in a deadly beautiful manner. The hilt was masterfully crafted and there seemed to be interlocking parts within that allowed for the huge intricate blade to separate into several different ones as well.

Staring at the blade with blank eyes, an odd sensation crept throughout him. His skin seemed like it was one fire and his blood, if he had any, was soaring higher and higher until it pulsed maddeningly in his veins. His hands itched to have that familiar weight in his grasp once more….

_…But I've never held a sword before…_

_**"No, you have. We all did, back in those days."**_

"Cloud? Cloud? Are you okay?" Tifa's voice drew him away from those thoughts and away from his Other, forcing him to gaze into startled warm eyes.

Barret was cursing in any word he could possibly imagine, playing with the light switches and trying to find his flashlight to go back and check the circuit breaker.

The electricity within a one-block radius of Cloud had gone out.

* * *

"Do you have any idea how badly you worried me?! One second I was curled up with you and the next you were gone! You _left_ me on the ground to die! Whatever happened to nobody gets left behind, huh?" Yuffie continued to scold him as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, trying to lose her or at least ignore her. He was failing at both miserably.

"Are you even listening to me?!" sadly, he had been listening to her for the past half 'n hour. Quite frankly he was tired of it.

He stopped on the ledge of a building and looked at her from over his shoulder, "Yuffie…"

She stopped a few feet away from him and regarded him curiously, "Are you finally going to apologize?"

"Please shut up, I'm trying to think," and promptly jumped off the ledge, falling out of sight.

Caught between utter shock, anger and worry, she rushed to the ledge, gaping like a fish, and looked down. Far down below she watched as Vincent flipped once in the air and landed with the grace of a cat upon his feet before walking along the ally ways, sticking to the darkness.

She cursed and leapt to his side, growling, "How _dare_ you?! I'm just trying to do my job here, Vinny! You should be all like, 'Thanks, Great Protector Yuffie! I'm sorry I startled you, Great Yuffie Kisaragi! I'll never do it again!'"

Vincent didn't answer, simply looked at her with dull red eyes,

_…wait, dull red eyes….oh, don't you dare, you little-_

But it was too late and before she could protest she saw his cape spring into life, swirling around him like a sea of tattered red, consuming his figure into a bundle of cloth but not before catching sight of those blazing red eyes and the triumphantly subtle smirk he wore as he disappearing within his cloak. She watched as the tattered cloak rose high into the air and bounced lightening quick from one rooftop to another.

* * *

A person changed into an AI…it shouldn't be possible. Not only was it theoretically impossible but who would have the technology, skill, team and money to build a device to do such a thing? No one. It was impossible…

_But it would explain the anomaly of the Persocom name and it backs up the story of the Originals._

Reeve ran his finger through his hair and rubbed his weary eyes, still staring at the screen of his computer. He had so many resources and not even he could produce a way to do such a thing…

But the thought made his heart pound with excitement. Being a man quite fond of technology, the thought of such a break through made his soul itch for the chance to see it for himself. He imagined what it would be like, to see the process of a man becoming the hybrid of a machine.

To still have all vital functions but the nerve paths changing into a nano-cannel, For your memory to never wear out. For one's youth to never fade. To be immune to all illness, both human and technological and to be able to access so many of things Persocoms do but still retain the abilities of a human! The possibilities were endless and he didn't even know where to begin…

…The National Data Bank.

"Caith, come here."

"Right-o!" Caith said softly, jumping into his lap and looking up at him curiously with his bit cat eyes.

"I want you to hack into the National Data Bank. If anyone can, you can."

"Will do!" Caith Sith said loyally and his eyes went dull, straight into processing mode.

Caith was a special model, the only one of its kind simply because Caith Sith didn't need connection wiring to access the net or another's Persocom. Everything was accessible to Caith. Everything.

"I'm in," Caith said with a smile, "What would you like to know?"

* * *

Finally she had caught up with him. She had been running along the allies for what felt like forever before Vincent finally stopped, obviously content with his theories that he had shaken loose of her. He was wrong and the thought made Yuffie beam with pride.

She watched as he released his programming and back Vincent once more. Watched as he stood on the ledge of the building and looked up at the sky, the wind blowing back his hair and cloak just the way she loved. She snapped herself out of it, _I'm a Persocom, remember? I can't fall in love. Plus, he's my charge…_ and just as she was about to go and rub her awesome tracking abilities in his face, she saw him jerk with pain.

She stopped, held still in utter shock as he moved one hand to his temple, wincing and slowly teetered on the ledge until finally he leaned the wrong way just a bit too far. And he fell…

"VINCENT!"

She ran as fast as she could, sliding underneath him just as he should of hit the ground and gathering him into her arms as the slid to a halt. Her legs were pretty damaged from the action but she would fix it later, she was a Persocom after all.

His eyes were dazed and dull, the tell tale signs that something or someone was trying to hack into him. He grunted and winced again, "They've gotten through the third Firewall…only three more left. They're accessing the lower level libraries…"

Yuffie yanked her connection wire out, "Hold on, I'll get'em out," she was all business now. How dare someone touch _her_ charge?

Vincent began to sit up, holding a hand out to stop her, "No, I'm fin-- ah!" he slumped back down, the pain from being infiltrated now five times worse. Again he cursed Hojo for his deranged experimentations, making him the literal meaning of Persocom.

Yuffie's eyes shone bright in the darkness of the ally, "Vincent!" and she connected with him, a force building up around her and pressing into Vincent, shoving into the infiltrator hard.

She pressed every square inch of her protection programming, every firewall and hacker destroying technique she knew, into every crevice of Vincent, flushing the abomination out of him and slowly she saw the pain on his face drift away, become peaceful, as she forced him in to a healing sleep mode.

_Hacker Flushed. No Programs Damaged. Sleep Restoration Activated._

She watched his red eyes, dull with the activation process, flicker open to look at her, angered by the fact she had forced the sleep upon him but to exhausted to do anything about it. His eyes drifted close again and he succumbed to sleep. Picking him up carefully, he was surprisingly light for a man so tall and with as much programming and modification as he had, and leapt up to a high safe rooftop to watch him heal. She'd have to wait to yell at him later.

* * *

Caith Sith jolted, eyes flashing, before slumping slightly into Reeve's lap, his eyes aglow, now disconnected from his earlier connection with the National Data Bank.

"I'm…sorry, Reeve…I was flushed…out. No programs effected…sleep mode…now…" and with that said Caith Sith 's drifted to a close.

Reeve sighed softly, scratching his partner behind the ears, "You did good, Caith," picked him up and walked over to cat bed that sat next to his desk, a bed Caith insisted on having when they were window shopping once. Setting him down gently upon the soft cushion of the round bed, Reeve gave him one last pet before walking off to get some rest of his own, preparing himself for the phone call he would have to make Tifa the next morning.

* * *

**Not much to say…sorry it was so long before I updated. This was not spell checked. Read and review! Also, thanks to everyone who has been reviewing so far, I appreciate it!**

**-Spazzy**


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry Guys, this is just an Author's Note-BUT IT IS IMPORTANT, if you have ever enjoyed my writing and are interested in reading more, please read!

I'm writing an online fiction web series and I'd like to let ya'll know about it! Below you will find all the information you need (summary, links, etc.) and I really, really, REALLY hope you guys check it out. Maybe leave a comment on the site? I'd love you to pieces.

* * *

**"A.R.C."**

**Summary: **When a biological attack hits the United States in 2012, humanity is pushed to it's limits to adapt. Victims become gripped by a severe allergic reaction to water. A new city is established—the Aquagenic-Mortis Rehabilitation City (A.R.C.)—to contain and protect the infected. Nearly thirty years later, people begin to disappear. A.R.C.-born citizens and possible carriers of an evolving strand of DNA could be the cure to end the disease. People like Noah. Now it's up to him, one of few immune to the disease, to find out the truth behind A.R.C. and the dark web of scandals that serve as its foundation.

_**w w w . a r c 2 0 1 2 . w e e b l y . c o m**_

_**"A.R.C." updates with a new chapter weekly. Every Wednesday, without fail.**  
_

You can also follow "A.R.C." on Tumblr - just write a-r-c2012 and then the rest of the tumblr address.

Full link for the first chapter (just take out all the spaces)

w w w . a r c 2 0 1 2 . w e e b l y . c o m

* * *

The reason why I'm posting information about this here, is because the reason why I started writing fanfiction was to better myself as an author and a lot of you provided amazing feedback and critique. I hope that even though this isn't a fanfiction, that you'll still give it a shot and maybe even enjoy it.

Also, I do still plan to finish "Two Where There Was One" and "Tomorrow We Believe, But Not Today". It's just hard to find time lately to write fanfiction. Sorry guys, I know it's been forever. Hopefully "A.R.C." will make up for it?

I really hope to see you there.

-Spazzy (aka Blindfolded Angel)


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